Breathe In, Breathe Out
by potterfan36041
Summary: There is always someone out there for everybody, it just takes some a little longer to find it. Billy finally thinks he has found it, but what will Hayley say?


DISCLAIMER: I do not own the Power Rangers, I only own the plot of this little one-shot story.

BACKGROUND: Just to let everyone out there know, this relationship was established in the "Saving the World, Again" series. All background for this relationship is in that story, so this story is a spin-off from that creation in case anything confuses you about them and how they got together.

_Billy's POV_

Two weeks ago, on Christmas Eve night, I was going to propose to Hayley. Why did I say going to, not did, you might ask? Well, it happened to be because of a dear friend. This dear friend, Trini Scott, happened to be in the hospital with elevated blood sugar and she was pregnant and at risk of having the baby two weeks early, with possible complications. Now, for a few moments that night I looked at my phone, trying to decide what exactly I needed to do.

I desperately wanted to go to the hospital and do what I could to support the two of them, but I had so much planned for the night. Then Hayley asked; 'Well aren't we going?' and we went, with no other questions running through my mind about what was going to happen that night. They went ahead and did a C-Section and she had some complications, which kept us at the hospital, talking with Kim and Tommy. That is why I did not propose on Christmas Eve. That is why I am here, in Reefside, tonight.

"Billy, what in the world are you doing here? I didn't think you were going to be back until tomorrow," Hayley said as he walked into the cyber cafe, near closing, on a Thursday afternoon. She had been surprised when the bell rang from the door opening and she was glad, although surprised, that he was there.

"I thought I would come up for the night," Billy said, as he sat down on one of the barstools and watched Hayley bustle around, while wiping the bar off. She had already put up all the chairs for the night and he had thought that he might have missed her, but luckily the light was still on.

"Well, don't expect much for supper, I haven't gone grocery shopping yet this week. It's been really busy here this week, for some odd reason," Hayley said, as Billy just nodded his head.

"Supper is on me, Hayley. Don't worry about it," Billy said, as Hayley gave him a curious look and then went on about her normal closing shop routine.

"And the special occasion is?" Hayley asked with a smile as Billy shrugged his shoulders and went back to looking around the cyber cafe. He didn't want to give her any chance of guessing why he was here tonight.

"You have to eat, don't you?" Billy asked, as Hayley shook her head, knowing she would not get any sort of answer out of him. When he was determined to keep something a secret, he generally was able to do it, even with her and she knew him the best.

"If you insist," Hayley said, as she looked around the deserted cafe and then looked at the clock. She had planned on doing some bills in the back, but since Billy had showed up, she might as well just leave a few minutes before ten. "Can you turn the sign for me and lock it? It's so much easier to go out the back."

"Sure," Billy said, as Hayley walked on back to her office and locked the money in the safe.

"Where are we going?" Hayley asked, as she stepped out of her office and closed the door with a click. If Billy would at least tell her that, then maybe she would have a chance at figuring out what was going on.

"Just trust me that you'll like it. There is not much more you are going to be able to get me to say about it," Billy said, as Hayley let out a sigh and then nodded her head. She was not going to try to get it out of him again for a little while. She knew better than that right now.

"How are Trini and Jason doing? I haven't seen Tommy in a couple of days to ask him about them," Hayley said as she sat down in the passenger's seat of his car. She was known to leave her car at the cafe for the night and if Billy was really staying the night, then there was no need for her to take it. He would bring her to work in the morning.

"All right. Trini's still on leave and Jason's just getting by with classes, that's probably why you haven't seen Tommy. He's been covering a lot for him, although Kim may be getting a little bit irritated, Angie's been really cranky lately. But Jason has been fighting with himself about how much time to spend with Trini and Alex and how much time to spend at the dojo. That's why Tommy is still teaching some for him," Billy said, as Hayley nodded and was surprised when Billy stopped at the house he had bought a few months ago. They hadn't visited there in a long time and she honestly couldn't remember exactly what it looked like because it had been that long.

"How will we have supper here? Billy, you don't even have a stove, yet," Hayley said, as Billy opened the door and Hayley dropped the purse she had in her hands. The last time she had been here there had only been empty walls and the hard wood floor. Somehow, Billy had managed to move his entire house into this one without her even noticing the moving van or anything else.

"You are right, I didn't have a stove the last time you were here, but I've made some improvements since then," Billy said as Hayley walked in and looked around, in shock.

"When did you do this?" Hayley asked, as she walked into the kitchen and saw food already on the table. She knew that Billy could cook, when he got the urge to do so and it seemed that he had thought it appropriate to cook for her tonight.

"Weekends, weeknights, whenever I could manage to get up here for a few hours with a carload of stuff," Billy babbled as Hayley sat down and continued to look around.

"So why are we here?" Hayley asked, as Billy shrugged again. He still didn't feel as if he could give anything away. "Billy, I know you have a reason for all of this. Why else would you be here on a Thursday night?"

"Hayley, give me time and you'll find out. I promise I won't keep you waiting forever," Billy said as he cut his food and took a bite.

"Okay, but this better be worth my wait," Hayley said as Billy laughed and nodded his head. It was going to be worth her wait, she just had to be a little bit patient.

"Trust me it'll be well worth your wait," Billy sad, as Hayley gave him a critical gaze and then went back to eating.

"So, did you finally get a job here?" Hayley asked, as Billy nodded his head yes. That was part of the good news he had for her, but he doubted that she would even guess what else was going on.

"I won't make as much, but there is room to move up and I won't be burning as much gas going between here and Angel Grove so often. That ought to make up the difference in pay on its own," Billy said as Hayley gave his hand a squeeze then gave him a serious look.

"Are you sure that is what you want? You are going to have to start all over there and it took you years to get where you are now. Is it really worth giving that up?" Hayley asked as Billy shrugged. It did not bother him to have to start close to the bottom again if it meant he'd be where he needed to be.

"Yes, Hayley, it's what I want. I've been applying to places for months and I finally have a job here. I'm not going to complain about my position at a new company when it has taken me this long to even get a job," Billy said as a faint beep emitted from the security system and Hayley looked over at the wall.

"Only you would have a security system like that," Hayley said, as she recognized the 'emergency' buttons which would bring a Power Ranger at a touch and she appreciated that sort of thing. She knew just how likely it was for something to happen to him here that did not come from an ordinary burglar and having the rangers at just a push of a button away was a great comfort.

"I'm one of the few people that would need a security system that has the capabilities of teleportation," Billy said as he switched it on. For a moment Hayley thought she was going to be teleported because of the brilliant array of light that flashed through the kitchen and the rest of the house.

"Where is the equipment?" Hayley asked, as she could only imagine where he would put something like that, in order to keep it a complete secret.

"Basement, but there are wires everywhere right now. You can see it once I've got the sheet rock and stuff up. I'm working on fixing one for Tommy and Kim as well, you know how much they need it," Billy said as Hayley nodded at the truth of that statement. She, also, knew how he liked things to be done before he showed it to anyone and she understood that. His projects, as well as hers, were generally messy while the process was going on.

"This really is a nice place, Billy. I'm glad that you'll finally get to live here. Even if we don't get to see each other a lot, I'm just glad that I can come by any time I want without having to make an hour drive," Hayley said, as Billy fidgeted with his pant pocket.

"Yeah, I am too," Billy said, simply as he looked at her and took a deep breath. He had been trying to think of what to say and what he should do, but he knew it was now or never for him.

"Are you okay?" Hayley asked as he shook his head yes, then looked over at her.

"Hayley, I've been trying over the last few weeks to think of a way to say this to you," Billy said, as she nodded her head, but said nothing. She wanted him to just say whatever was on his mind. She couldn't really make an accurate guess; she was shocked enough as is. "And I really wanted to do this two weeks ago, but you know how that night turned out. I just...I want to know...will you marry me?"

Hayley sat at the kitchen table in shock, not expecting this from Billy. She was sure she wanted to marry him. She had been sure of that for the past year now, but since he was asking the question she suddenly was at a complete loss of all means of communication. She didn't know what she had expected from him when he proposed, but this was not it, although it did fit him better than anything that she had ever imagined him doing.

"I understand if you don't want to..." Billy blurted out after several minutes of silence and Hayley violently shook her head no. She had not meant to be quiet for that long, but she just couldn't really manage to find the right thing to say.

"Billy, I want to, really I do. You just surprised me. You really surprised me," Hayley said with a smile as she gave him a hug and he returned the embrace quickly.

"Is that all?" Billy asked, although he could tell she was telling him the truth of the matter at hand.

"Yes, Billy, it is. Now, can I please have the grand tour? If I'm right, I will be living here in a couple of months," Hayley said, happily, as Billy placed his arm around her and let out a long sigh. He was now happier than he had been in months, whether or not Hayley knew that, he didn't care. All he wanted was for them to be happy together and they were one step closer to that.

AN: I hope that you have enjoyed this little one-shot on Billy and Hayley's engagement. Just let me know what you think about it!


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